Elements of Surprise
by halfasblind
Summary: OTH, SPN Crossover. It’s senior prom and Dean’s spiffing up for the occasion. One Shot. Complete.


Title: Elements of Surprise  
Disclaimer: I claim ownership to nothing.  
Summary: One Shot. It's senior prom and Dean's spiffing up for the occasion.  
Author's Notes: Originally this was supposed to be a birthday fic for Hider. Later that intended, but finally complete. Enjoy!

---

Dean Winchester stared at his brother through the mirror as Sam circled him, taking in his attire, nodding his head in accordance. "I still think you should get the cummerbund."

"I am not wearing a headband around my waist," Dean snapped, straightening his jacket as he stared in disgust as the scrap of black material around his waist. Seriously? No. "I like the vest," he said motioning for the sales clerk as he pulled off the cummerbund. "Besides, the vest makes me look like John Travolta."

"Well whatever Tony Manero," Sam said with a roll of his eyes, snatching the black cummerbund away from his brother as Owen, the salesclerk, returned to hand Dean the vest that he'd tried on earlier.

Sam slid back into his chair, watching in awe as Dean turned around in the mirror, inspecting himself from every angle. He was being such a girl about this, Sam mused.

This being prom.

Dean had received the frantic voicemail from Peyton three weeks ago. She was freaking out over not having a date for her senior prom. She never came out and asked Dean, which annoyed him more than he let on. But Peyton had probably figured that he wouldn't be able to make it anyway. Which was why they had ignored a job in Michigan and drove 900 miles out of the way to North Carolina.

"I still don't see why you just don't call her, Dean," Sam told his brother, not agreeing with Dean's decision to just pop up at the prom.

"I want to surprise her, Sam. This is her big day and I want it to be special."

"And what are you going to do if she has a date?"

Dean turned around to stare at his brother. "She doesn't," he said simply. "I called Lucas and told him of my plans and made sure that Peyton was still going alone." Turning back to the mirror, Dean said, "Besides, if she did, I'd just kick the jerk's ass."

Sam laughed softly, shaking his head at his brother. "You're such the jealous and overprotective boyfriend. You know that, right?"

Dean wanted to laugh, but even he knew what Sam was saying was true. Instead of confirming Sam's claims, he opted for, "Bite me."

Sam fell into silence when Owen approached just as Dean began stripping off the penguin suit. "You know… it's a big day for you, too," Sam pointed out, knowing that Dean didn't get a chance to attend _his _senior prom. A ghost hunting excursion in Nashville had made attending impossible.

Dean sighed, handing Owen his discarded formal wear. "Yeah, I know… which is why I want to share it with her. It'll mean a lot to both of us."

Later, as they made their toward the checkout, Sam smirked at his brother. "You looked nice, Dean."

"You can stop right there, Sam," Dean said with an impish grin as he faced his brother. Pitching his voice louder than the norm so that he could be overheard, Dean joked, "No amount of flattery will get me to change my mind. I'm not going to have sex with you."

"You're such a jerk, Dean," Sam said, slinking away as the salesclerk sent he and Dean intrigued looks.

Laughing to himself as the cashier approached, Dean muttered, "Yeah, I know."

---

Peyton Sawyer felt out of place. She hated being the fifth wheel, but she had no one to blame but herself for her current disposition.

She could've gotten herself a date but the truth was that she didn't want to go with anyone but her boyfriend and there was no way in hell that Dean was going to be her escort for prom.

Of course she didn't even give him the luxury of turning her down. She had left a voicemail on his phone a few weeks ago, bitching and complaining on how she didn't have a date but she uttered not a word about her desire to have him attend her prom as her date.

Now she was alone at her senior prom and felt like the biggest loser. She should've just stayed home.

"Hey Peyton, you alright?"

Peyton glanced up as Lucas gingerly touched her knee. "Yeah… I'm fine," she lied, plastering a fake smile on her face. Even though her night was ruined, she refused to let her foul mood affect her friends and their night.

"You thinking about Dean?"

She nodded her head slowly. Lucas knew her better than anyone so of course he knew the thoughts running through her head. "Just wondering where he is."

"Have you talked to him lately?" Haley asked, joining the on-going conversation.

Peyton shook her head. "Not for two weeks. The last time I talked to him he and Sam were in Washington."

"D.C.?" Nathan questioned.

"Washington state."

"I'm sorry, Peyton. We all know that you'd like him to be here," Haley said, smiling sadly at her friend, remembering how excited Peyton had been when they'd gone dress shopping. She'd been so excited with the hope that Dean would be going with her. She'd finally have a chance to show off her hot, older boyfriend. It was especially that Peyton had picked out her dress specifically geared toward Dean's personal taste.

Peyton simply shrugged. "It's fine. What Dean's doing is important. I understand that. I've told him that. I don't want him to put his work on hold for a stupid dance."

Haley, Brooke, Lucas and Nathan exchanged sympathetic glances with one another as the limo pulled to a stop outside Tree Hill High. Peyton quickly piled out ahead of them, walking swiftly to enter the gymnasium alone.

"One of us should tell her, you know," Brooke said looking at Lucas as she stepped out of the limo.

"Dean said that no one is to let on that he's coming." Lucas remembered the conversation that he'd had with Dean just the day before. Dean had called en route to Tree Hill to surprise Peyton for the dance, but wanted it to be a surprise. He had promised Dean that he'd get her to the dance and that was all Dean had asked of him. Besides keeping his plans a secret from Peyton, of course.

"I just hate lying to her," Brooke whined.

"And you think I do?"

"None of us enjoy lying to her, Brooke, but Dean wants to make tonight special for her and we're not gonna deny him that. He tries to do right by her whenever he can and tonight he can," Haley insisted, before grabbing Nathan's head to pull him toward the gym doors, Brooke and Lucas falling into step behind them.

---

"I don't see her," Dean murmured to Sam as he searched the crowd for his girlfriend. If he didn't know any better he'd think he'd been stood up. Only you had to have a standing date to be stood up and he didn't have one.

"Maybe her and her date decided to skip and go straight to the hotel room," Sam suggested with a playful sneer directed at his brother, fully prepared for the headsmack that came as a result.

"Is that supposed to be funny?" Dean snapped. "Because I'm not laughing."

Sam patted his brother on the back to comfort him. "She's gonna show up. Don't get your panties in a twist."

"Don't worry about my panties," Dean mumbled, fumbling with his collar. "God… it's hot in here."

"You're just… anxious. Calm down."

"That's easy for you to say. You're the romantic type. I'm not. I like guns and hunting and kicking ass. I'm not at all… _schmoopy_."

Sam flailed at his brother's word choice. He wasn't even aware that schmoopy was in Dean's vocabulary. "_Schmoopy_?"

"It's Peyton's word, okay?"

Sam laughed at his brother, his laughter slowly dissipating as he spotted a familiar blonde making her way through the crowd. Sam tapped Dean on the shoulder, his brother's head whipping around to follow his line of vision.

"Damn," Dean muttered, once again yanking at his collar. "It is _definitely _hot in here!" Dean declared, unable to take his eyes off of Peyton.

Sam looked back at Dean, grabbing his brother's arms. "There she is. Go!"

"What? Now?"

"No. Wait until tomorrow when she's depressed because her prom sucked," Sam said sarcastically. "Yes, now!" Then, "Why not now?"

"Because my legs won't move."

"Well, make them move," Sam demanded, even more annoyed with Dean than usual. If Peyton was his girlfriend his feet would not be glued to the gym floor, especially considering how ravishing she looked. And she looked completely ravishing.

But he wouldn't tell Dean that. Not to his face, at least.

"Push me?"

"God, you're insufferable!" Sam exclaimed as he pushed his brother onto the dance floor.

---

Her red satin dress had gone to waste, Peyton mused as she ambled over to the refreshments stand. She and Haley had gone dress shopping together and when she had laid eyes on it she knew she had to have it. Haley had assured her that it would render Dean speechless.

She had to admit that she had bought it in hopes that Dean would accompany her, but then she had chickened out on asking him at the last minute. She had wanted to ask him. Really, she had. She'd had her entire monologue written out and an entire argument ready when he began to object, as she figured her would.

But the day that she had called him to ask, he'd been in an isolated area where cell phone reception was shoddy and he hadn't been able to hear a single word that she had said. She had been convinced that the higher powers just didn't want it to be so she had give up altogether.

Part of her had hoped that her whining about prom would motivate Dean to ask her since that's what was supposed to happen. The boy was supposed to ask the girl. Even if the boy was a man and had already gone through his prom right of passage.

_He was supposed to ask!_

After getting a glass of punch she returned to her table only to find it empty. Looking to the dance floor, she saw that her friends had abandoned her to dance. Well, she hadn't expect them to coddle her all night.

Sighing, she set her drink down on the table, then moved toward the exit doors. Stepping outside she reached into her matching red beaded purse for her cell.

Peyton flipped it open, hesitating a moment before she speed dialed Dean and waited.

---

Dean was in the process of following Peyton outside when his cell began to vibrate from his pocket. Reaching into the inside pocket of his tuxedo jacket, he extracted his phone, smiling when he saw that it was her calling.

He paused just outside the exit doors as he pressed the phone to his ear, answering, "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me," she said softly, her voice barely audible.

"I didn't expect to hear from you tonight. Big dance and all," he said, slowly making his way out into the warm night.

"Yeah, I know," Peyton said with a sigh as she walked over to a bench, dusting it clean before she sat down. "I don't think I should've have come at all."

"Why not?" Dean questioned, his tone a bit squeamish. He blamed it on his shirt. He was suffocating him. And the damn humidity outside was not helping! Why couldn't she stay indoors where there was air conditioning!

"Because I wanted to be here with you. I bought this stupid dress for you and you can't even see me in it."

From his spot he could see her just fine, he thought as he stood steadfast in his place, watching her as they spoke. "I didn't know that, Peyton. You never asked me to go with you."

"I know. I just… I figured that you wouldn't _want _to come."

"You don't know me very well, do you?"

"Had I asked, would you have come?"

"If you had asked me, yes I would've gone."

"Well now I just feel stupid."

Dean didn't answer her right away. Instead, he began making his way toward her as he heard Peyton say into the phone, "Dean? Dean, are you there?"

"No, he's here," he said above her.

Peyton closed her eyes as she whispered to herself, "Tell me that I just imagined that."

"You just imagined that."

She jumped to her feet, throwing her arms around his neck. "I can't believe you're here!" she said, hugging him tightly.

"Hey, hey… you'll wrinkle my duds!"

Peyton took a step back then reached up to smooth out any wrinkles. "You look… _wow_."

"That was my exact reaction to this thing," he said, gesturing to her dress.

"You should see what I have under the dress." Dean gulped. "Or rather… what I _don't _have under the dress."

With a hand to his heart, Dean settled down on the bench, "You're gonna kill me if you keep talking like that."

"Is that for me?" she asked, gesturing to the corsage box that he held in his hands.

"Uh… yeah." Taking her hand, he guided her down on the bench beside him. "I talked to Haley and she told me what color you were wearing. Well, actually, she ordered this for me," he said, popping open the lid to the clear box.

"Haley…," Peyton said through gritted teeth. She should've known that something was up when both her and Lucas _insisted _that she attend prom alone.

"Don't be mad at her. I told them all to promise not to tell you I was coming."

"THEY ALL KNEW?"

Dean laughed uncomfortably. "Yeah…?"

"I'll kill 'em."

Dean shook his head, telling her, "You will do no such thing. Besides, you'll ruin your dress and you look far too pretty to do such a thing." After extracting the silk floral arrangement from it's box, he grasped her hand in his, then slid the corsage onto her wrist.

"It's beautiful, Dean. Thank you."

She leaned across, brushing her lips across his cheek.

Dean frowned, complaining, "I drove nine hundred miles to get here and all I get is a kiss on the cheek? I bought flowers. I'm _wearing _a tuxedo. I think I deserve more than a kiss better reserved for your Aunt Ida."

As Peyton rubbed her smeared lipstick from his cheek, she told him, "If you play your cards right you might get a lot more later."

"I should get dressed up for you more often." Peyton opened her mouth to reply, but he said, "Don't push your luck."

---

Sam was sitting in the bleachers talking to a couple of girls when someone grabbed his hand, pulling him out onto the dance floor. He wasn't aware that it was Haley until they were on the dance floor with her arms wound tightly around his neck.

"What are you doing?" he asked as they began to sway to the music. Well, at least they weren't playing Metallica or Black Sabbath. He was growing tired of Dean's mullet rock. Even if he had to endure the likes of boy bands and 80's power ballads, he could stomach it for one night at least.

"What am I doing? I'm saving you from those girls," Haley said, jutting her head in the direction of the group of single senior girls that were eyeing Sam like they were hungry wolves and he just so happened to step into their nest.

"We were just talking," he insisted.

"Yeah. Sure," Haley said, disbelievingly. Like she believed anything that came out of a Winchester's mouth. They were pros at spinning a web. "Where's your brother?"

"Do I look like his keeper?"

"Sam, I'm wearing high heels. Do you really want to play this game with me?"

Sam shook his head. "Uh… no. Last I saw him he was stalking Peyton."

"Pardon me?" she asked, not sure she'd heard him right. As far as she knew Dean was dating Peyton therefore he had no need to stalk her.

"I just meant that he followed her outside."

"Oh."

"Should we go and check on them?"

Sam shook his head, nodding toward Haley as Dean and Peyton reentered the gym, arm-in-arm. Dean winked at him as he and Peyton stopped on the dance floor. Peyton was all smiles as she caught his eye over Dean's shoulder.

"Sam. Dude. Get your own wife."

Sam spun around finding Nathan standing behind him. "Hey! She grabbed me, Nate," Sam said, stepping aside as Nathan took over his position in Haley's arms.

---

With Dean's tuxedo jacket slung across her shoulders, Peyton and Dean exited the gymnasium shortly after midnight. "We could stay, you know. I was having fun."

"Yes, because the argument that you and Sam had about the music choices was highly entertaining to listen to," Peyton mocked as Dean led the way to his car.

"Still, I wasn't _not _enjoying myself," he told her as they stopped at his car.

Peyton leaned against the passenger side door, hooking her fingers in his cummerbund to pull him closer. "As much as I would love to stay with my friends, I'd rather be alone with you. After all you did drive all this way for me and get dressed up for me…"

"I think I like the direction you're taking this. Continue," he prodded as she pulled him closer.

"I feel inclined to… reward you for this thoughtful boy friendly behavior."

"What kind of reward we talking? Because if you plan on buying me a candy bar and giving me a pat on the head, that shit's not gonna tide me over."

Reaching into her purse, Peyton extracted a room key, dangling it in front of his face. "I can do a lot better than that."

---

Two days later, Peyton found herself standing on her front porch in Dean's shirt, watching as he threw his duffel bag into his backseat. He turned around, resting against his car for a moment looking back at her to say, "My clothes look better on you than they do on me."

"I beg to disagree with that," she told him as he moved across the lawn and back up the steps to stand in front of her on the porch. "This visit was short," she sighed as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I know, but in my defense it was a last minute thing."

Peyton shook her head, fighting the urge to let the tears fall. She refused to turn into a blubbering idiot in front of him. She had done so before, but after nearly a year of dealing with Dean breezing in and out of her life, it _had _gotten easier.

"I'm glad you came, even if it was only for two days."

"You know if it was up to me…"

"… but it's not. I understand." Dean pressed a kiss to her forehead, her cheek, finally brushing his lips across hers. "Promise you'll be careful?"

"I promise I'll _try _to be careful?"

Peyton shrugged. "I guess that'll have to work." Throwing her arms around his neck, she whispered in his ear, "Why's this always the hardest part?"

"Because we suck at saying goodbye," he chided with an uncomfortable laugh. Taking a step back, he slid his hands down her arms to take her hands in his promising, "I'll call you when we get to Michigan."

Peyton nodded in understanding. With a final parting kiss, Dean made his way back to the car, sliding in beside Sam. After he pushed the key into the ignition and the engine roared to life, he glanced at Peyton .

With a small wave of his hand, he threw the car into gear, pressed his foot to the gas and pulled away from the curb, watching Peyton disappear behind him through the rearview mirror.

"So, did you tell her that you're coming back for graduation?"

Dean smirked at his brother as he pulled to a stop at the end of the block. "Well, if I told her, it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?"


End file.
